Hair-clipper



(No Model.)

J. K. PRIEST.

4 HAIR CLIPPER. No. 470,597. Patented Mar. 8, 1892.

TM: mums versus cu, mo'wumu, mums-row, u. c.

JOSEPH K. PRIEST, OF NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

HAIR-CLIPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 470,597, dated March 8, 1892.

Application filed September 29, 1891. Serial No. 407,116- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH K. PRIEST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hair-Clipping Machines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

' Myinvention relates especially to that type of hair-clipper which comprises abase toothed cutting-plate and an upper toothed cuttingplate, each of said plates being connected to a lever-handle and the handles and plates pivoted together and acted upon by a spiral tension-sprin g and regulated by a springpressure device; but it is not necessarily confined to this specific type of hair-clipper, as it will be useful in other styles of clippers.

The object of the invention is to relieve the spiral tension spring of the handles and toothed cutting-plates from undue frictional bind during the opening and closing of the handles and especially in the clipping of the hair on the return stroke by the spring force.

My improvement will be fully understood from the following specification and the annexed drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear view of a hair-clipper as heretofore constructed, excepting that my invention of improved spiral tension-spring of the handles and toothed plates is substituted for the ordinary spiral tension-sprin g. In this figure the tubular cap which incloses the spring and its restraining bearing, projection, or stud is shown separately, it and its fastening-screw being raised above the spring and stud in order to expose the same. Fig. 2 is a top view of the clipper, the cap and fastening-screw being removed. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal central section of the clipper, the cap and fastening-screw being in position. Fig. t is a broken sectional View showing the stud with a cylindrical sleeve fitted on it and the spring placed around the sleeve. Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view showing a conical sleeve fitted on the stud and a cylindrical spiral spring placed around said sleeve, and Fig. 6 is a similar sectional View illustrating how the spring and sleeve can be inverted on the stud. Fig. 7 illustrates a double conical spiral spring, and Fig. 8 a cylindro-conical stud and cylindrical spiral spring. A in the drawings indicates an ordinary toothed base cutting-plate; B, a toothed upper cutting-plate; G O, handles, the handle 0' having a pressure-plate 0 formed on it.

D is a spring-pressure device; E, a stud formed with or screwed into the pressureplate and serving for keeping the spiral tension-spring F of the handle and cutting-plates A and B in position.

F is a tubular cap with openings in its periphery, as usual, for inclosing the stud E and allowing the ends of the spiral spring F to be extended through it to the handles, and G is a screw passed through the top of the cap and into a screw-threaded socket a of the stud and serving for confining the cap in position. The spiral spring F, which is placed around the stud E and preferably kept in place by a groove or depression d in the'stud, is in form approximately of an inverted cone between its upper and lower winds, its lower wind being extended tangentially to a sufficient length to fit into a notch Z) of the handle 0' and its uppermost wind extended tangentially a sufficient length to fit into a notch c of the handle G. From an inspection of the drawings it will be seen that the diameter of the lowermost wind of the spiral spring F is just large enough to insure a bearing-contact of it or a portion of it upon the grooved part d of the periphery of the stud near where said stud starts out from the pressure-plate O and that all of its succeeding winds are of a greater diameter than the stud, in order that they shall not have any bearing-contact upon said stud. By this construction of the spring the whole volume of its several winds is secured for producing the required tension and resistance upon the handles and cutting-plates during the closing of the handles without liability of the respective winds of the spiral spring, causing frictional bind or resistance to one another by contact with each other, as in a coiled spring, and thus the mosteffective spring force is obtained for performing the cutting during opening of the handles, which occurs when pressure of the hand of the op erator is withdrawn for the purpose of allowing the spring freedom to exert its force upon the cutting-plates, and thereby effect by its action the clipping operation on the back or return stroke, and while this is so the frictlonal resistance of the stud to the spring and of the winds of the spring to one another is reduced to a minimum, there being but a single wind or only a portion thereof of the coiled spring in contact at any time with the stud which forms the restraining hearing or pro ection of the clipper and the winds of the spring lying Oneabove another. This is a very important change in hair-clippers, as it saves the spring from undue strain and rapid destruction, greatly eases the action of the clipper upon the hand of the user, and renders the major portion of the winds of the spring free from all undue frictional resistance during the cutting of hair on the back stroke by the force of the spring. Anything that retards the freedom of the winds of the spring while it is giving out its power for cuttlng is very objectionable. My invention overcomes such objection of undue frictional bind of the spring upon the stud and of its winds upon one another.

In constructing the spiral spring its winds rnay be set slightly apart,'so as to not come 1n objectionable contact with one another, and thus friction be avoided, and, if desired, two of the lowermost winds may have a bearingcontactuponthestud. Thespiralspring might be of a form which partakes of two cones, the truncated end of one cone adjoining the truncated end of another cone, as illustrated in Fig. 7. In this construction the winds of the spiral spring having the smallest diameter would be midway of the length of the said spring and the bearing-contact of the same on the stud would be at a pointabout midway of the length of the said stud; or the stud E might be cylindro-conical, its smallest diameter being at its top, as illustrated in Fig. 8, and in such construction the spiral spring could be made cylindrical and fit and hear at its lower end upon the cylindrical base portion of the stud, and thus only its lowermost wind would bear upon the stud, while its remaining winds would be free from the conical or tapered portion of the stud. With this modification the whole volume of the several winds of the spiral spring would be secured for producing tension upon the handles and toothed cutting-plates and the friction reduced to a minimum.

The invention herein described may be employed in connection with a clipper in such manner that the conical spiral spring may bear directly on the stud, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or upon a cylindrical sleeve f, placed around a stud E, as shown in Fig. 4c, or the spring may be a cylindrical spiral and bear upon a conical sleeve f placed on a cylindrical sleeve E, as shown in Fig. 5. The spiral conical spring shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 might be inverted on the stud E, and thus bring the bearing-contact of the spring near the top of the stud instead of at the bottom, and the sleeve and spring shown in Figs. 4 and 5 might be turned upside down, as illustrated in Fig. 6, and thus bring the bearing contact of the spring near the top of the stud instead of at the bottom, and thus inverted the height of the notches b c in the lever-handles would be reversedthat is, the notch b for the fixed end of the spring would be higher than the notch c for the free end of the spring, this being necessary because when the spring is reversed the fixed end would be higher than the free end. In all positions of the spring it will be held from longitudinal displacement by the groove or depression 61 in the stud E.

This groove, however, is not absolutely necessary.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A clipper having a spiral spring which produces tension on its handles or toothed plates, applied with only a portion of its winds in contact with the restraining bearing or projection which forms the pivot of the handle and the other portion of its winds, although encircling the said restraining-bearing free from hearing contact therewith before and during the manipulation of the clipper, substantially as described.

2. Aclipper having a conical spiral spring applied to the pivot of its handles, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto'affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- JOSEPH K. PRIEST. \Vitnesses:

A. J. Lucian, E. D. LUOIER. 

